Method and device for processing a slaughter animal

ABSTRACT

In a method and device for opening a blood vessel in the neck of a pre-positioned slaughter animal, a blood vessel is opened as a result of at least one cutting device being moved into the neck from one side of the neck towards the opposite side of the neck, the blood vessel being located in the path of the cutting device. The cutting device is an elongate blade which is moved in its longitudinal direction and is provided with a sharp, inclined front side. Before the blood vessel is opened, the distance between the trachea and the blood vessel is increased in an area of the opening.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This is a continuation application of PCT/NL00/00024 filed 14 Jan. 2000.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to methods and devices for processing a slaughteranimal, such as a fowl.

This processing relates firstly to the mechanical opening of at leastone blood vessel in the neck of a slaughter animal, in particular afowl, comprising the steps of: positioning the neck of the slaughteranimal; and opening the at least one blood vessel.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

When slaughtering animals, such as cattle, small livestock and poultry,it is customary, after the animal has been stunned or killed, to openone or more important blood vessels and to allow the blood to run out ofthe animal. The blood vessel which is to be opened is usually thecarotid artery. In order to ensure that the blood runs out of the animalas fully as possible, it is moved into a position which is such that thesticking location is located at a lower level than most of the rest ofthe body of the animal. In specific terms, this usually means that theanimal is hung by at least one leg, in particular—other than in the caseof poultry—by at least one hind leg.

In the case of animals which have been stunned electrically or with theaid of a gas atmosphere, a heart beat, muscle reactions and a pumpaction are still present in the blood vessels sometime after sticking,and all these actions promote exsanguination of the slaughter animal. Inthe case of animals which are already substantially dead before theblood vessels are opened, the heart beat, muscle reactions and pumpaction in the blood vessels are substantially absent, so that apart fromthe external application of pressure to the body of the animal, it isonly possible to use the force of gravity for the exsanguinationprocess.

In the case of stunned animals, but even more so in the case of deadanimals (owing to the corporeal functions which are then absent), it isimportant for the blood vessels to be opened as fully as possible. Thecurrent state of the art includes various devices which can be used toopen the blood vessels in the neck of poultry.

European Patent No. 262,289 describes a device in which a fowl which ishung by its legs is moved onwards. The neck of the fowl is fixed betweentwo substantially fork-like supports, the limbs of the supports beingdirected towards one another. While the neck of the poultry is beingfixed in place, a double blade, which is provided with a substantiallyU-shaped recess, is stuck into the neck at the front side of the neck,transversely with respect to the longitudinal direction of the neck,with the result that the two carotid arteries are opened. The U-shapedrecess is intended to prevent the blade from damaging the cervicalvertebrae, the oesophagus or the trachea in the neck of the poultry.

U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,354,296 and 5,425,668 describe opening a jugular veinof poultry with the aid of a rotating blade at the side of the neck andwith the aid of a device in which the poultry is moved onwards hangingby its legs.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,392,273 describes a device in which the head of poultrywhich is suspended by its legs and moved onwards by the device istrapped between two parallel, helical and rotating guides, which areprovided, on their outlet side, with blades which are directed towardsone another, for opening the jugular veins at the sides of the neck.

A problem which arises in particular when dead animals are beingexsanguinated with the aid of the force of gravity is presented by theinaccessibility of the arteries in the neck when using the conventionalmethods of opening blood vessels with the aid of a rotating blade. Thearteries are located relatively far from the surface of the neck, and toachieve optimum exsanguination of the slaughter animal, should also beopened in addition to the veins. However, with the conventional meansthis is impossible without also cutting into or severing the oesophagusand/or the trachea. This is sometimes undesirable, since in a laterstage of the processing of the slaughter animal it is often necessaryfor the connections between the head of the slaughter animal and itsbody, which are formed in particular by the trachea and the oesophagus,to be intact, so that these connections can be pulled out at the head,and any organs which are joined to them can be pulled out of the body ofthe slaughter animal.

Another problem in the prior art is the fact that opening a blood vesselin the neck of a slaughter animal which is hung by a (hind) legimmediately causes a large amount of blood to emerge from the neck,which blood contaminates the device used for opening to a considerableextent. To combat the negative consequences of this contamination, suchas bacterial infection, continuous, intensive cleaning of the device isrequired.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of the method according to the invention is to reduce oreliminate the abovementioned drawbacks.

To reach this object, in the method according to the invention a bloodvessel is opened by moving at least one cutting means into the neck fromone side of the neck towards the opposite side of the neck, the at leastone blood vessel to be opened being located in the path of the cuttingmeans. The cutting means may be a blade or, for example, a water jet. Inparticular, the cutting means is a substantially elongate blade which isprovided with a sharp, inclined front side, the blade is movedsubstantially in its longitudinal direction, the at least one bloodvessel which is to be opened being located in the path of the inclinedside of the blade. Preferably, the blade is moved to and frosubstantially along a line. The method according to the invention thusprovides the possibility of opening, i.e. cutting into or severing, boththe (major) jugular veins (V. jugularis) and the deeper carotid arteries(A. carotis) by a single movement of the blade.

To prevent the equipment which is used to open a blood vessel in theneck of the slaughter animal from being excessively contaminated withblood, the slaughter animal is preferably killed, in particular in a gasatmosphere, before the blood vessel is opened, and the slaughter animalis expediently positioned in such a manner that the head is located at ahigher level than the area of the opening and the body is located at alower level than the area of the opening. Due to the absence of theheart beat, muscle reactions and pump action in the blood vessels of thedead slaughter animal, the pressure of the blood in the blood vessel atthe location of the opening is low, partly due to the position of theslaughter animal. Consequently, only a small quantity of blood emergesfrom the body of the slaughter animal at the location of the opening.

When the slaughter animal is then positioned in such a manner that itsbody is located at a higher level than the area of the opening, whichcan take place at a location which is completely adapted to collect theblood emerging from the opened blood vessel, the equipment used to openthe blood vessel remains relatively clean. A slaughter animal which hasbeen killed in a gas atmosphere is relatively relaxed, which promotesexsanguination.

Obviously, the body of the slaughter animal may already have beenpositioned at a higher level than the area of the opening before the atleast one blood vessel is opened. Furthermore, it should be noted herethat the advantage of the relatively low blood pressure in the neck ofthe slaughter animal if the body is at a lower level than the positionof the opening is used not only if the slaughter animal is dead, butalso if the slaughter animal is alive, after it has or has not beenstunned.

Preferably, before the at least one blood vessel is opened, the distancebetween the trachea and the at least one blood vessel is increased in anarea of the opening. Moving the blood vessel and the trachea apart inthe area of the opening creates space which allows the blood vessel tobe opened with a cutting means without there being any risk of thecutting means damaging the trachea in an undesirable manner. Theconnection between the head and the body of the slaughter animal via thetrachea therefore remains completely intact.

If before the at least one blood vessel is opened, the distance betweenthe oesophagus and the blood vessel is also increased in the area of theopening, the oesophagus can also be held outside the working area of thecutting means which opens the at least one blood vessel, and theconnection between the body and the head of the slaughter animal whichis formed by the oesophagus also remains completely intact.

Imposing a distance between the blood vessel, on the one hand, and thetrachea, as well as the oesophagus if appropriate, on the other hand,also makes the blood vessel more accessible to a cutting means: it canthen be opened not only from the side directed towards the lateral sideof the neck, but also from the side directed towards the front side ofthe neck. In addition, the arteries of the neck are also more accessibleto a cutting means when using the method according to the invention.

In a preferred embodiment of the method according to the invention, thedistance between the trachea and, if appropriate, the oesophagus, on theone hand, and the blood vessel, on the other hand, is increased byintroducing a separating member, which is provided with an end, into theneck from each of the two sides of the neck until the ends of the twoseparating members come into contact with one another or are at a shortdistance from one another at a location between the trachea and the atleast one blood vessel, in particular at a location between theoesophagus and the at least one blood vessel, and then moving theseparating members and a part of the neck apart substantiallytransversely with respect to the longitudinal direction of the neck. Theseparating members separate the neck, in the area of the opening, intotwo parts, as it were, in particular a front part and a rear part. Ofcourse, said distance is adapted to the desired conditions and can beachieved as a result of the separating members being displaced withrespect to (a part of) the neck, as a result of (a part of) the neckbeing displaced with respect to the separating members, or as a resultof the separating members and (a part of) the neck being moved apart.The first option is preferred, in which case in particular theseparating members, after they have been moved into the neck, are movedtowards the front side of the neck. In this case, the separating memberscarry the trachea, or the trachea and the oesophagus, with them towardsthe front side of the neck, an operation which, due to the flexibilityof said organs, is easily possible without significantly changing thelocation of the remaining part of the neck containing the at least oneblood vessel and the cervical vertebrae. The ends of the separatingmembers may engage either behind an oesophagus or trachea or on anoesophagus or trachea, for displacing the oesophagus or trachea withrespect to a blood vessel which is to be opened.

The device for cutting into at least one blood vessel in the neck of aslaughter animal comprises: neck positioning means for positioning theneck of the slaughter animal; and blood vessel opening means for openingthe at least one blood vessel, and is wherein the blood vessel openingmeans comprise at least one cutting means which is adapted to movethrough the neck from one side of the neck to the other side of theneck, the at least one blood vessel which is to be opened being locatedin the path of the cutting means.

In a preferred embodiment, separating means are provided for increasingthe distance between the trachea and the at least one blood vessel in anarea where the cutting takes place, as explained above.

In a preferred embodiment, the separating means, which preferablycomprise the separating members described above, have a blunt end, inorder to prevent damage to the trachea and/or the oesophagus when theseparating members are introduced into the neck. In this way, the necktissue of the neck of the slaughter animal is only pushed aside by theseparating members, tearing at a desired location.

To achieve a good, reproducible action of the separating means,neck-positioning means are preferably provided for positioning the neckof the slaughter animal in the device according to the invention.Preferably, the neck positioning means act in the vicinity of at leastone end of the neck, and more particularly they engage on the neck inthe area which extends from the underside of the head of the slaughteranimal to the second cervical vertebra. The neck positioning means maycomprise a head support for supporting the head and a shoulder supportfor supporting the shoulders of the slaughter animal. The head supportis advantageously at the same time a head carrier for carrying theslaughter animal by its head, this head carrier comprising asubstantially U-shaped carrying opening, the transverse dimension ofwhich is smaller than the width of the head of the slaughter animal, sothat the slaughter animal can easily be hung from the head carrier. Thiscan be achieved with very little effort, by manipulating only the head,and not the body, of the slaughter animal, at a location where stunnedor dead slaughter animals are supplied, lying on a surface. If it isensured that the head carrier forms part of a conveyor, the slaughteranimal can be guided onwards automatically to and past the separatingmeans and the blood vessel opening means.

To allow the slaughter animal, which is hanging by its head, to beexsanguinated as fully as possible after a blood vessel in its neck hasbeen opened, the body has to be moved to a higher level than the openinglocation, by shifting the point by which the slaughter animal is hungfrom the head to the legs. For this purpose, it is expedient to provideleg positioning means for placing at least one leg or hind leg of theslaughter animal in a leg carrier, such as a conventional hook, whichinteracts with the leg positioning means.

In a preferred embodiment, the leg positioning means comprise a supportwhich can tilt about an axis, for tilting at least part of at least oneleg from a substantially vertical position into a substantiallyhorizontal position. Said part of the leg preferably extends below theknee joint and, for poultry, is in particular the drumstick. In thehorizontal position of the leg, the latter can easily be moved throughan opening in the leg carrier, after which the leg can be fixed in theleg carrier, and the slaughter animal need no longer be hung by itshead, so that the body of the slaughter animal moves to a higher levelthan the location where a blood vessel has been opened.

In a further preferred embodiment, the tiltable support is adapted alsoto support the breast of the slaughter animal, so that tilting of the atleast one leg of the slaughter animal can be controlled better. Thesupport may be provided with gripper means, such as mechanicallycontrolled gripper fingers, for securely gripping the at least one leg.

To ensure reliable interaction between the leg positioning means and theleg carrier, it is expedient to provide one or more stops, whichinteract with the leg positioning means and act on the slaughter animal,for positioning the at least one leg substantially in a horizontalplane.

The processing in the context of the invention also relates to imposinga distance between stunned and dead slaughter animals, orienting stunnedor dead-slaughter animals, and manually or automatically picking upstunned or dead slaughter animals and hanging them from hooks.

Other objects, features and advantages of teh present invention willbecome apparent from the following detailed description in conjunctionwith the appended drawings in which identical components or componentswith a similar function are denoted by the same reference symbols.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 a shows a perspective view of how a fowl is hung from a hook;

FIG. 1 b shows a perspective view of an alternative way of hanging afowl from a hook;

FIG. 1 c shows a perspective view of yet another way of hanging a fowlfrom a hook;

FIGS. 2 a and 2 b show how the neck of the fowl is fixed and positioned;

FIGS. 3 a, 3 b and 3 c show, on an enlarged scale, various processingsteps involved in opening blood vessels in the neck, the neck beingillustrated in cross section a short distance below the head of thefowl;

FIG. 3 d shows, on a further enlarged scale, an alternative processingstep involved in opening blood vessels in the neck of the fowl;

FIGS. 4 a and 4 b show perspective views of the position and action oftools for carrying out the method steps illustrated in FIGS. 3 a-3 c;

FIG. 4 c shows a perspective view of the position and action of toolsfor opening blood vessels in the neck of a fowl which is in analternative position;

FIGS. 5 a, 5 b, 5 c and 5 d show perspective views of successive stepsinvolved in transferring the fowl from a position in which it is hung byits head to a position in which it is hung by its legs;

FIGS. 6 a, 6 b and 6 c show perspective views of alternative successivesteps involved in transferring the fowl from a position in which it ishung by its head to a position in which it is hung by its legs;

FIGS. 7 a, 7 b, 7 c and 7 d show perspective views of yet moresuccessive steps involved in transferring the fowl from a position inwhich it is hung by its head to a position in which it is hung by itslegs;

FIG. 8 shows a perspective view of a first device for imposing adistance between stunned or dead slaughter animals;

FIG. 9 shows a diagrammatic, plan view of a second device for imposing adistance between stunned or dead slaughter animals;

FIGS. 10 a and 10 b respectively show a plan view and a side view, indiagrammatic form, of a third device for imposing a distance betweenstunned or dead slaughter animals;

FIG. 11 shows a diagrammatic plan view of a fourth device for imposing adistance between stunned or dead slaughter animals;

FIGS. 12 a and 12 b respectively show a plan view and a front view, indiagrammatic form, of a fifth device for imposing a distance betweenstunned or dead slaughter animals;

FIG. 13 shows a diagrammatic plan view of a sixth device for imposing adistance between stunned or dead slaughter animals;

FIG. 14 shows a perspective view of a first device for orienting stunnedor dead slaughter animals;

FIG. 15 shows a perspective view of a second device for orientingstunned or dead slaughter animals;

FIG. 16 shows a perspective view of a third device for orienting stunnedor dead slaughter animals;

FIG. 17 shows a perspective view of a fourth device for orientingstunned or dead slaughter animals;

FIG. 18 shows a perspective view of a fifth device for orienting stunnedor dead slaughter animals;

FIG. 19 shows a perspective view of a sixth device for orienting stunnedor dead slaughter animals;

FIG. 20 shows a perspective view of a seventh device for orientingstunned or dead slaughter animals;

FIG. 21 shows a diagrammatic side view of an eighth device for orientingstunned or dead slaughter animals;

FIGS. 22 a and 22 b respectively show a plan view and a cross section,in diagrammatic form, of a device for moving oriented poultry onwards;

FIG. 23 shows a perspective view of how a fowl is picked up from aconveyor using a gripping device;

FIG. 24 shows a perspective view of how legs of poultry, which is beingmoved onwards on a conveyor and has been oriented, are moved into ahook;

FIG. 25 shows a diagrammatic, perspective view of a device for movingthe neck of poultry which is being moved onwards on a conveyor and hasbeen oriented into hooks;

FIG. 26 shows a perspective view of how poultry which has been orientedon a belt conveyor is manually hung from hooks;

FIG. 27 shows a diagrammatic, plan view of a second arrangement forhanging slaughter animals from hooks;

FIG. 28 shows a diagrammatic plan view of a third arrangement forhanging slaughter animals from hooks;

FIG. 29 shows a diagrammatic plan view of a fourth arrangement forhanging slaughter animals from hooks;

FIG. 30 shows a diagrammatic plan view of a fifth arrangement forhanging slaughter animals from hooks;

FIG. 31 shows a diagrammatic plan view of a sixth arrangement forhanging slaughter animals from hooks;

FIG. 32 shows a diagrammatic plan view of a seventh arrangement forhanging slaughter animals from hooks;

FIG. 33 shows a diagrammatic plan view of a first arrangement incarousel form for hanging slaughter animals from hooks;

FIG. 34 shows a diagrammatic plan view of a second arrangement incarousel form for hanging slaughter animals from hooks.

FIG. 35 shows a diagrammatic plan view of a third arrangement incarousel form for hanging slaughter animals from hooks; and

FIG. 36 shows a diagrammatic plan view of a fourth arrangement incarousel form for hanging slaughter animals from hooks.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 1 a shows a stunned or dead fowl 2 which a hand 4 of a person (notshown in more detail) is carrying by its neck 5. The neck 5 of the fowl2 is moved into a recess 8 of a hook 10, in the direction of the arrow6, for hanging the fowl from the hook 10 by its head. The hook 10 may bestationary or may form part of a preferably endless conveyor, which isnot shown in more detail, and moves along a path which is denoted by adot-dashed line 12. The path 12 may be either curved or straight. Thehook 10 can not only be conveyed along the path 12, but also can betilted about an axis which runs parallel to the path 12.

As shown in FIG. 1 b, the fowl 2 may also be moved into the recess 8 ofthe hook 10 with the aid of the hand 4 from a lying position on asurface 16 which extends between the dashed lines 14 illustrated. Thesurface 16 may be the base of a crate or a compartment of a crate, butmay also, for example, be a belt of a moving belt conveyor.

It is in principle irrelevant for the method and device according to theinvention whether the fowl is hung from the hook 10 with its beak facingtowards the recess 8 or away from the recess, as shown in FIG. 1 c.However, the position of the fowl may have consequences for thepositioning of the tools, such as the separating members which will bediscussed in more detail below with reference to FIGS. 3 a-3 c.

After the fowl has been hung by its head in the recess 8 of the hook 10,as explained with reference to FIGS. 1 a and 1 b, shoulder supports 18are moved in a manner which is not shown in more detail onto either sideof the fowl 2, as illustrated in FIG. 2 a, towards the neck 5 of thefowl, in the direction of arrows 20. If the hook 10 moves along the path12, the shoulder supports 18, in addition to the movement in thedirection of arrows 20, will move synchronously with the hook 10. Theshoulder supports 18 come into contact with the fowl 2 in the area ofthe neck 5, with their concave sides 22 located above the shoulders ofthe fowl 2.

Then, as illustrated in FIG. 2 b, the shoulder supports 18 are movedaway from the hook 10, in the direction of arrows 24, during whichmovement the sides 22 of the shoulder supports 18 come to bear againstthe shoulders of the fowl 2 and push them downwards. Thus, the neck 5 ofthe fowl 2 is reproducibly moved into a predetermined position, with theneck 5 under a tensile stress, as seen in its longitudinal direction.

FIGS. 3 a, 3 b, 3 c and 3 d show a cross section through the neck of afowl, illustrating a spinal column 26, trachea 28, oesophagus 30, twoarteries (A. carotis) 32 and two (major) veins (V. jugularis) 34.

As shown in FIG. 3 a, separating members 36 which have arms 37 and ablunt, hook-shaped end 38 are arranged on either side of the neck 5. Ina similar way to the shoulder supports 18, the separating members 36 canmove synchronously with the hook 10 and, additionally, executeautonomous movements, in a manner which is not shown in more detail andas will be explained further with reference to FIGS. 3 b and 3 c.

FIG. 3 b shows the situation in which the separating members 36 havemoved into the neck 5 in the direction of arrows 40 until the ends 38 ofthe separating members 36 are located at a short distance apart. Theends 38 have been moved into the neck from the mutually opposite sidesof the neck 5 at a location which is such that they are situated betweenthe oesophagus 30 and the blood vessels 32 and 34. It is also possiblefor the separating members 36 to be moved into the neck substantially inthe direction indicated by arrows 40 a.

As shown in FIG. 3 c, the separating members 36 are moved out of theposition shown in FIG. 3 b in the direction of arrow 42, for moving thetrachea 28 and the oesophagus 30 to a distance from the blood vessels 32and 34. Then, an elongate blade 44 is moved through the neck 5 in thedirection of arrow 46, so that all the important blood vessels 32 and 34in the neck 5 are opened. For this purpose, the blade 44 is providedwith sharp, inclined sides 44 a and 44 b. The trachea 28 and theoesophagus 30 remain intact.

It should be noted that the separating members 36 do not have toact/move in the same plane as the blade 44. Also, the arms 37 of theseparating members 36 may extend in a different direction from thatshown in FIGS. 3 a-3 c.

If it is not important for the oesophagus 30 and, if appropriate, thetrachea 28 to remain intact when the blood vessels 32 and 34 are opened,or if it is even desirable for the oesophagus 30 and, if appropriate,the trachea 28 also to be cut into, the separating members 36 are notused, and a suitable width of blade 44 is used, as illustrated in FIG. 3d.

FIGS. 4 a and 4 b illustrate the position of the separating members 36and the blade 44 with respect to the neck 5 of the fowl 2. If the hook10 is moving along the path 12, not only the shoulder supports 18 andthe separating members 36, but also the blade 44, irrespective of theirautonomous movements, will move synchronously with the hook 10. Themovement of the blade 44 is brought about with the aid of apiston-cylinder unit 48.

Obviously, it is also possible for the fowl, in order to carry out theoperations shown in FIGS. 2 a, 2 b, 3 a-3 d, 4 a and 4 b, to be hung byits legs from a hook 9, as shown in FIG. 4 c. In this position too,suitable tools corresponding to FIG. 2 b can be used to tension andposition the neck of the fowl, and an incision can be made as shown inFIGS. 3 a-3 d, 4 a and 4 b. In the case shown in FIG. 4 c, the fowl willbe exsanguinated immediately after the blood vessels in the neck havebeen opened.

After the blood vessels have been opened in the manner described abovewith reference to FIGS. 4 a and 4 b, the body of the fowl is moved to ahigher level than the location of the opening, in the manner which is tobe explained with reference to FIGS. 5 a, 5 b, 5 c and 5 d. For thispurpose, as shown in FIG. 5 a, a double leg support 50 is arrangedagainst the legs 52 a of the fowl 2. The leg support 50 movessynchronously with the hook 10 and parallel to the path 12 if the hook10 is moving. The leg support 50 is attached to an arm 52 which ismounted in such a manner that it can pivot about a pin 54 in supports56. A piston-cylinder unit 58, of which a piston rod 60 is pivotablycoupled to the arm 52 at the location of a pin 62, is arrangedsubstantially in a fixed position with respect to the supports 56.

In the stage illustrated in FIG. 5 b , the leg support has been pivotedupwards, in the direction of arrow 66, through approximately 90° as aresult of the actuation of the piston-cylinder unit 58, so that the legs52 a project substantially horizontally outside the leg support 50.Previously, a double hook 68 has been positioned in such a manner thatthe legs 52 a project into an opening which is delimited by the hook 68.The hook 68 may, for example, be moved synchronously with the hook 10,along a path 64, by means of a conveyor.

As illustrated in FIG. 5 c, the hook 10 is then tilted in the directionof the arrow 70, and the leg support 50 is removed, with the result thatthe legs 52 a slip into designated recesses in the hook 68, and the fowl2 then hangs in the position illustrated in FIG. 5 d. In this position,the corporeal functions (where still present) and the force of gravityensure that the fowl is exsanguinated.

It is not essential for the beak of the fowl to face towards the hook 10as shown in FIGS. 1 a, 1 b, 2 a, 2 b, 4 a, 4 b, 5 a and 5 b; inprinciple, the beak may also be directed away from the hook 10, asindicated in FIGS. 1 c and 4 c, or may adopt yet a further position,provided that the (positions of the) shoulder supports, the separatingmembers, the blade and the leg support are correspondingly adapted.

FIGS. 6 a, 6 b and 6 c show a part of a device for moving the body of afowl to a higher level than a cut which has been made in the neck of thefowl. As shown in FIG. 6 a, a unit 82 is moved towards the fowl 2substantially in the direction of arrow 80. The unit 82 comprises acombined breast/leg support 84 with shoulder supports 86, and isattached to an arm 90 in such a manner that it can tilt about a pin 88.The support 84 is tilted as a result of an arm 92, which is connected tothe support 84 in such a manner that it can pivot about a pin 94, beingmoved in the direction of arrow 96. In this way, the fowl 2 is movedinto a position which is illustrated in FIG. 6 b.

In the position of the fowl 2 which is illustrated in FIG. 6 b, a legseparating means, which is in the form of a plate 100 which can tiltabout the pin 94 and is connected to an arm 96 in such a manner that itcan pivot about a pin 98, is moved between the legs of the fowl 2, inthe direction of arrow 102, as a result of arm 96 being actuated, inorder to physically separate the legs of the fowl 2 from one another.The fowl 2 is also positioned in a substantially horizontal plane as aresult of a stop 108, which can be extended and retracted in thedirections of double arrow 104 by means of a drive means 106 (not shownin more detail), being placed against its rear side, and as a result ofa stop 112, which is driven by drive means (not shown in more detail),being pressed against the breast of the fowl 2, on the front side of thefowl 2 in the direction of arrow 110, so that the fowl 2 is pushedagainst the stop 108 irrespective of the size of the fowl 2, whichvaries within certain limits. In the position of the fowl 2 which isreached in this way, a double hook 114 is moved in the direction ofarrow 116 so that part of the legs projects through the opening which isdelimited by the hook 114.

As illustrated in FIG. 6 c, the support 84 is then tilted back about thepin 88 while the hook 10 is simultaneously being tilted. As a result,the fowl 2 will come to hang by its legs from hook 114, in whichposition optimum exsanguination is achieved.

The blood vessels in the neck area of the fowl 2 may have been opened ina stage which preceded the positioning of the support 84 in accordancewith FIG. 6 a, but may also in principle take place in the position ofthe fowl which is shown in FIG. 6 a or in FIG. 6 b.

FIG. 7 a shows a fowl 2 which is suspended by its head from a hook 10.From a direction which is indicated by arrow 120, a leg gripper unit 122is moved into the area of the legs of the fowl 2. The leg gripper unit122 comprises a set of arms 124 and a gripper 130 which can rotate abouta pin 126, can be moved into a desired angular position by a drive unit128 and comprises a fixed plate 132 and two gripper fingers 136, whichcan pivot about pins 134 and are likewise driven by the drive unit 128.The leg gripper unit is moved out of the position shown in FIG. 7 a, inthe direction of arrow 138, until the drumsticks of the legs of the fowl2 are situated between the plate 132 and the gripper fingers 136. Asillustrated by FIG. 7 b, the gripper fingers 136 are then moved towardsthe plate 132 by the drive unit 128 in order to securely grip the legsof the fowl 2.

Then, the hanging of the fowl 2 by its head is eliminated, for exampleby pivoting the hook 10 in the manner illustrated in FIG. 6 c. As aresult, the fowl 2 will fall forwards between the arms 124. Asillustrated in FIG. 7 c, substantially at the same time the gripper 130is rotated through approximately 270° in the direction of arrow 140 bythe drive unit 128, resulting in a situation in which the fowl 2 ishanging freely by its legs and the drumsticks of the legs extendapproximately in the horizontal direction. Then, the leg gripper unit122 is moved in the direction of arrow 142 until the legs projectthrough the opening which is delimited by the hook 144. As illustratedby FIG. 7 d, a continuing movement of the leg gripper unit 122 in thedirection of the arrow 142, under the hook 144, while the legs are atthe same time released from the clamping produced by the gripper fingers136, leads to the fowl 2 being hung from the hook 144. During thismovement, the gripper 130 is rotated through approximately 90° counterto the direction of the arrow 140.

FIG. 8 shows three belt conveyors 150, 152, 154 which are mounted onrespective rollers 156, 158, 160, 162 and are moving in the direction ofrespective arrows 164, 166, 168. Fowl 170 from a stunning or killinginstallation are conveyed in a random orientation and local density onthe belt conveyor 150. The belt conveyor 150 is preferably, but notnecessarily, driven intermittently, so that one or a few fowl 170 perunit time fall from the belt conveyor 150 onto the lower belt conveyor152 at the location of the roller 156. If the belt conveyor 150 isdriven intermittently, the time interval in which the belt conveyor 150is at a standstill is preferably approximately equal to the timeinterval which it takes for the belt of the belt conveyor 152 to coverhalf its revolution. This ensures that firstly all the fowl 170 on thebelt conveyor 152 are discharged, in the area of the roller 160, ontothe belt conveyor 154 before further fowl 170 are supplied to the beltconveyor 152 from the belt conveyor 150. The belt conveyor 154preferably runs at a constant speed which may be higher than the speedof the higher belt conveyor 152, in order to impose a distance betweenthe fowl 170 and, in addition, to provided a certain degree oforientation in the direction shown in FIG. 8 for fowl 170 a.

It is possible to provide a radiation source 159 a in order to emit abeam 161, such as a light beam, over the belt conveyor 152 to aradiation receiver 159 b, which beam 161 may be interrupted by aslaughter animal which is being conveyed over the belt conveyor 152. Theradiation receiver 159 b is coupled to a control device 163 assymbolically indicated by dashed line 165. The control device 163 iscoupled to the drive of the belt conveyer 152 as symbolically indicatedby dashed line 167. The control device 163 is adapted to stop the driveof the belt conveyor 152 for a predetermined time, via the coupling 167,when an interruption to the beam 161 is detected via the coupling 165,and then to resume driving of the belt conveyor 152 until anotherinterruption to the beam 161 is discovered from the state of anuninterrupted beam 161, so that the fowl 170 on the belt conveyor 154will be at a predetermined minimum distance from one another.

In FIG. 8, a fourth belt conveyor (not shown) can be mounted at the endof belt conveyor 152 facing away from belt conveyor 154. The arrangementof the fourth belt conveyor with respect to the belt conveyor 152 may besimilar to the arrangement of the belt conveyor 154 with respect to thebelt conveyor 152. In such a situation, belt conveyor 152 can be drivenin a controlled way both in the direction of arrow 166 and in theopposite direction. When driven in said opposite direction, fowl fallfrom belt conveyor 152 down onto the fourth belt conveyor at thelocation of the roller 158.

FIG. 9 shows a belt conveyor 180, on the belt of which stunned or deadslaughter animals, such as fowls, can be conveyed in the direction ofarrow 182. Above the belt conveyor there are stationary raised walls184, 186, as well as an endless belt 188 which is mounted on rollers 190and is driven, in a manner which is not shown in more detail, in thedirection of arrow 192. A following belt conveyor 194 is adapted toconvey slaughter animals, which are discharged at end 180 a of beltconveyor 180, in the direction of arrow 196. A following belt conveyor198, the belt of which is provided with walls 200 which project from thebelt surface at regular intervals, is adapted to convey slaughteranimals which are discharged at end 194 a of the belt conveyor 194, inthe direction of arrow 202.

Stunned or dead slaughter animals are distributed and supplied inlocally varying densities on the belt conveyor 180, after which theconveying space available is narrowed at the location of belt 188 andthe opposite part of the wall 184. The minimum distance between thewalls 184 and 186 is selected in such a way that only one slaughteranimal can pass at any one time through the passage defined by the walls184, 186. The conveying speed of the belt conveyor 194 is preferablyselected to be higher than that of the belt conveyor 180, so thatslaughter animals which pass onto the belt conveyor 194 lie at adistance from one another. Various slaughter animals which aredischarged to the belt conveyor 198, depending on the conveying speed ofthe belt conveyor 198, pass into adjacent compartments which are definedby the walls 200 or with one or more such compartments between them.

The function of the belt 188 is to avoid blockages and to assist withthe flow of slaughter animals at the location of and upstream of thepassage which is delimited by the walls 184, 186.

FIG. 10 a again shows the belt conveyor 180, the functions of which arethe same as those explained above in the context of FIG. 9. Slaughteranimals which are discharged at the end 180 a of the belt conveyor 180via the passage between the walls 184 and 186 pass onto a belt conveyor210 on which the slaughter animals are conveyed in the direction ofarrow 211. As shown in FIGS. 10 a and 10 b, the belt conveyor 210, whichis mounted on rollers 212 a, 212 b and 212 c, comprises a horizontalpart between the rollers 212 a and 212 b, a downwardly sloping partbetween the rollers 212 b and 212 c, and an upwardly sloping partbetween the rollers 212 c and 212 a. The belt of the belt conveyor 210is covered with flaps 214 which—as seen in the conveying direction211—slope forwards. There is only space for one slaughter animal betweentwo successive flaps 214 on the part between the rollers 212 c and 212a. As a result, each slaughter animal which is fed to the belt conveyor210 by the belt conveyor 180, if the preferably constant conveyingspeeds of the respective belt conveyors 180, 210 are selected suitably,passes between a different pair of successive flaps 214 of the beltconveyor 210.

FIG. 11 shows a belt conveyor 220, the belt of which is moving in thedirection of arrow 222. Above the belt conveyor 220 there is a raisedwall 224, as well as an endless belt 228 which is mounted on rollers 226and is driven, in a manner not shown in more detail, in such a mannerthat the belt moves in the direction of arrow 230. Above the beltconveyor 220, there is also a drum 232 which rotates about a pin 234, ata preferably constant speed, in the direction of arrow 236. On its outercircumference the drum 232 bears a number of, in this case four, flaps238. Slaughter animals which are conveyed along the belt conveyor 222,after they have passed an end 222 a thereof, move onto a belt conveyor198, the structure and function of which has already been explained withreference to FIG. 9.

The furthest upstream part of the wall 224, together with the belt 228,forms a narrowing in the passage, for arbitrarily distributed slaughteranimals which are supplied with a random local density onto the belt ofthe belt conveyor 220. The narrowing is selected in such a way that theslaughter animals are able to pass through the passage between the belt228 and the opposite part of the wall 224 only one by one, and then passinto a space between two successive flaps 238 of the rotating drum 232.The space between two successive flaps 238 and the opposite part of thewall 224 is preferably dimensioned in such a manner that there is onlyspace for one slaughter animal, so that the slaughter animals downstreamof the wall 224 are discharged onto the belt conveyor 198 at a distancefrom one another. The flaps 238 are preferably made from rubber, inorder to prevent damage to the slaughter animals.

FIGS. 12 a and 12 b show a belt conveyor 240 with a belt which is drivenpreferably at constant speed, in a manner not shown in more detail, inthe direction of arrow 242. One end 240 a of the belt conveyor 240 islocated above a hopper 244 with an outlet opening 244 a above a beltconveyor 246, the belt of which is driven, in a manner not shown in moredetail, in the direction of arrow 248. Like the belt of the beltconveyor 198 (FIG. 9), the belt of the belt conveyor 246 is alsoprovided with raised walls 250. Two successive walls 250 delimit a spacewhich can contain only one slaughter animal, so that slaughter animalswhich are supplied randomly by the belt conveyor 242 are spaced apart inthe device shown in FIGS. 12 a and 12 b. At the location of its outletopening 244 a, the hopper 244 is provided with a cutout 252 fordischarging the slaughter animals from the hopper 244 onto the beltconveyor 246.

FIG. 13 shows belt conveyors 260, 262, 264 and 266, the belts of whichmove in the directions indicated by respective arrows 268, 270, 272 and274. At a discharge end 260 of the belt conveyor 260 there is a hopper276 which is open on one side, where it ends in raised walls 278, 280which diverge as seen in the conveying direction of the belt conveyor262 and are situated a short distance above the belt conveyors 264, 266.The belt conveyors 264 and 266 are preferably arranged on a slope, inwhich case that edge of the top part of the belt of each belt conveyor264, 266 which faces towards the belt conveyor 262 is located at thelevel of the top part of the belt of the belt conveyor 262, and theopposite edges of the top part of the belt of each belt conveyor 264,266 is situated at a higher level. Thus, the surfaces of the belts ofthe belt conveyors 264, 266 can run substantially parallel to the sidewalls of the hopper 276 which they adjoin.

The width of the belt conveyor 262 is such that slaughter animals whichhave been discharged into the hopper 276 by the belt conveyor 260 canonly be positioned on it one behind the other. The slaughter animalswhich leave the belt conveyor 262 move onto or against one of the beltconveyors 264, 266 and, on or by this conveyor, are returned to thewalls 278, 280, which guide these slaughter animals to the belt conveyor262, so that ultimately all the slaughter animals are discharged onebehind the other by the belt conveyor 262. As seen in the direction ofthe arrow 270, the walls 278 and 280 are offset with respect to oneanother, in order to prevent an accumulation of slaughter animals at theends which face towards the hopper 276.

After an interval has been imposed between slaughter animals, forexample in one of the ways shown in FIGS. 8-13, or a combinationthereof, the slaughter animals are each as far as possible oriented insuch a manner that they are in a predetermined position or one of alimited number of predetermined positions, so that they can betransferred to another carrier or a processing device with little effortor even in an automated manner, without human intervention. The way inwhich the orientation of the slaughter animals is influenced will beexplained below with reference to a number of embodiments of devices.

FIG. 14 shows a belt conveyor 290, on the belt of which slaughteranimals 292, in this case poultry, are being conveyed in the directionof arrow 294. Stationary guide walls 296, 298 are arranged above themoving belt of the belt conveyor 290, which walls, as seen in thedirection of the arrow 294, define a passage 300 which narrows to apredetermined width. With the device shown in FIG. 14, it is possible toorient fowl 292 which lie one behind the other on the belt of the beltconveyor 290, in the direction of the arrow 294, so that when these fowl292 leave the passage 300 they adopt a predetermined position withrespect to the edges of the belt of the belt conveyor 290, with the head292 a or the legs 292 b pointing forwards.

FIG. 15 shows a belt conveyor 310 which is mounted, inter alia, on aroller 312 and is driven, in a manner not shown in more detail, in thedirection of arrow 314. Beneath discharge end 310 a of belt conveyor 310there is a tank 316 which has been filled to a predetermined level witha liquid 318, such as water, with a relative density which is at leastas high as the average relative density of the slaughter animal which isto be processed in the device.

The tank 316 is provided with a feed 320 and an outlet 322 for theliquid 318 which is located inside the tank 316. The flow rate of liquid318 which is fed through the feed 320 to the tank 316 is substantiallyequal to the flow rate of liquid 318 which is discharged from the tank316 through the outlet 322 and is set at such a level that a suitableflow of liquid 318 in the direction of arrow 324 is established in thetank. In the vicinity of the surface of the liquid 318, two guides 326,328 are arranged in a stationary position in the tank 316, in a mannerwhich is not shown in more detail. The guides 326, 328 delimit a passage33 b, the width of which decreases in the direction of the arrow 324. Atthe downstream side of the guides 326, 328 there is a belt conveyor 332,one end of which is situated in the liquid 318 below the guides 326,328, and an opposite end 332 a of which is situated outside the tank316. The belt conveyor 332, which is mounted, inter alia, on a roller334, is arranged on a slope and is driven, in a manner not shown in moredetail, in the direction of arrow 336.

Slaughter animals 338, in this Figure fowl, which are supplied on thebelt conveyor 310 and are placed at a distance from one another fall offthe discharge end 310 a of the belt conveyor 310 into the liquid 318, inwhich they are carried along, in the direction of the arrow 324, by theflow prevailing in the liquid, towards and through the passage 330. Theslaughter animals 338 then come into contact with the belt of the beltconveyor 332 and are thus carried along in the direction of the arrow336 and are discharged via the discharge end 332 a of this conveyor. Inthe case shown in the figure, i.e. that of orienting fowl, theprevailing flow of the liquid 318 to which the fowl is subjectedimmediately after it leaves the discharge end 310 a of the belt conveyor310, and the anatomy of the fowl, ensure that the legs of the fowl arealways directed forwards and the breast of the fowl is always facingdownwards between the guides 326, 328. The guides 326, 328 prevent thefowl from losing their orientation which they have obtained in this way,so that the fowl at the discharge end 332 a of the belt conveyor 332 arealways in a fixed orientation and at a predetermined distance from theedges of the belt of the belt conveyor 332.

FIG. 16 shows a belt conveyor 340 which is driven, in a manner not shownin more detail, in the direction of arrow 342. Stationary manipulators344 a, 344 b are arranged on either side of the continuously orintermittently moving belt conveyor 340, which manipulators eachcomprise a column 346 on which a mechanical transmission 348 is mounted,which couples a motor 350 to a drum 352 on which radially projecting,preferably flexible fingers 354 are arranged. With the aid of the motors350, the drums 352 can be moved in the directions indicated by thedouble arrows 356. The drums 352 are situated a short distance above thebelt conveyor 340. The movements of the drums 352 in the directions ofthe double arrows 356, which movements do not have to be synchronous,simultaneous or in the same direction, are brought about by controllingthe respective motors 350 in a suitable manner using a data processingsystem 358, as symbolically represented by the dashed lines 360. Thiscontrol is effected on the basis of data which emanate from animage-recording system 362, which is used to determine the position ofindividual slaughter animals 364 on the belt conveyor 340. Taking intoaccount the conveying speed of the belt conveyor 340, the manipulators344 a, 344 b are controlled by the data processing system 358 in such amanner that their fingers 354 move a slaughter animal 364 which islocated within the working area of the manipulators 344 a, 344 b into adesired orientation. If necessary, it is possible to ensure that all theslaughter animals are moved into the same orientation.

FIG. 17 shows a belt conveyor 370 over which slaughter animals 372, inthe case illustrated fowl, are conveyed at intervals in the direction ofarrow 374. Blowing nozzles 376, each with blowing openings 378, arearranged in a stationary position in the vicinity of the edges of thebelt conveyor 370. The blowing nozzles 376 can each be pivoted in acontrollable manner in the directions of the double arrow 380, in orderto direct the air flows emerging from the—optionally separate—blowingopenings 378 over the belt conveyor 370 as required. Compressed air isfed to the blowing nozzles 376 via hoses 382, which are each connectedto a pump 384, as indicated by dot-dashed lines 386 in the figure. Abovethe belt conveyor 370, there is a camera 388 which takes pictures of theslaughter animals 372 lying on the belt conveyor 370. The imageinformation in question is transmitted to a data processing system 390,as symbolically represented by dashed line 392. The data processingsystem 390 analyses the image information by using this information toderive the orientation of the individual slaughter animals and, on thebasis of this orientation, regulating the flow rate of each pump 384and/or the separate blowing openings 378, as symbolically represented bydashed lines 394, and adjusting the pivoted position of the blowingnozzles 376, as symbolically represented by dashed lines 396. Thiscontrol sequence takes place for each individual slaughter animal 372and has the aim of bringing about a predetermined orientation on thebelt conveyor 370 for all the slaughter animals 372 while they aremoving past the blowing nozzles 376.

FIG. 18 shows a belt conveyor 400 on which slaughter animals 402, inthis figure fowl, are conveyed at a distance from one another and in arandom orientation, in the direction of arrow 404. A controllablegripper and positioning device, referred to as positioning device 406for short, is arranged in a stationary position next to the beltconveyor 400. The positioning device 406 comprises a casing 408, whichcan rotate about a vertical axis and/or can be displaced along the beltconveyor 400, arms 410 which can be pivoted in a controllable mannerabout a pin 412, in the directions of double arrow 414, an arm 416,which with the aid of a drive 418 can be pivoted about a pin 420 in thedirections of double arrow 422, and a gripper device 424 which isconnected to the arm 416 and can rotate, in a controllable manner withthe aid of a drive 425, about an axis which is parallel to thelongitudinal axis of the arm 416 in the directions of double arrow 426,the gripper device 424 comprising two grippers 428 which can be openedand closed, with the aid of a controllable drive 430, in order tosecurely grip the legs or another part, such as the neck or the body, ofa slaughter animal 402.

A camera 432 for taking pictures of slaughter animals 402 which areconveyed along the belt conveyor 400, is arranged in a stationaryposition above the belt conveyor 400. The image information which isobtained in this way is transmitted to a data processing system 434, assymbolically represented by dashed line 436. In the data processingsystem, the image information is used to establish where the legs of therespective slaughter animals are located upstream of the positioningdevice 406. When the appropriate data have been determined by the dataprocessing system 434, the positioning device 406 is controlled on thebasis of this information, as symbolically represented by dashed line438, so as to securely grip the legs of a slaughter animal 402 and todisplace the slaughter animal which has been taken hold of in such amanner that it acquires a predetermined orientation on the belt conveyor400, after which the slaughter animal is released again by thepositioning device 406.

FIG. 19 shows a belt conveyor 440, on which slaughter animals 442, inthe case illustrated fowl, which lie at a distance from one another arebeing conveyed in the direction of arrow 444. A suction device 446 witha suction nozzle 448 which, via a hose 450, is coupled to the suctionside of a pump (not shown in more detail), is arranged in a stationaryposition next to the belt conveyor 440. The suction nozzle 448 islocated a certain distance above the belt conveyor 440 and can be movedto and fro over the width of the belt conveyor 440 in a controllablemanner by means of arms 452, in the directions of double arrow 454. Acamera 456, for taking pictures of the slaughter animals 442 which arelocated on the belt conveyor 440, is arranged in a stationary positionabove the belt conveyor 440. The corresponding image information istransmitted to a data processing system 458, as symbolically representedby dashed line 460. On the basis of the image information from thecamera 456, the data processing system 458 determines the position ofthe heads of the respective slaughter animals 442 and, on the basis ofthis information, controls the suction device 446, as symbolicallyrepresented by dashed line 462, in such a manner that the suction nozzle448 is positioned above the head of a slaughter animal 442, the head issucked securely onto the suction nozzle 448, and the slaughter animal442 is then displaced by its head so as to adopt a predeterminedorientation with respect to the belt conveyor 440.

As in FIG. 19, an arrangement which is shown in FIG. 20 includes thebelt conveyor 440, which is moving in the direction of the arrow 444,the slaughter animals 442, the camera 456, the data processing system458 and a suction device 470. The suction device 470 comprises a suctionnozzle 472 which can be rotated, in a controllable manner which is notshown in more detail, in the direction of double arrow 474 and isconnected, via a hose 476, to the suction side of a pump (not shown inmore detail). The suction nozzle 472 is located a certain distance abovethe belt conveyor 440 and, with the aid of arms 478, can be moved to andfro over the width of the belt conveyor 470 in a controllable manner, inthe directions of double arrow 480.

In FIG. 20, the camera 456 is used to obtain images of slaughter animals442 which are located upstream of the suction device 470, on the beltconveyor 440. The image information in question is transmitted to thedata processing system 458, as symbolically represented by dashed line482. The data processing system 458 is adapted to determine the positionand orientation of the slaughter animals 442 on the basis of the imageinformation and, on the basis of this position and orientation, tocontrol the suction device 470, as symbolically represented by dashedline 484. For this purpose, the suction nozzle 472 is positioned above aslaughter animal 442, which is located on the belt conveyor 440, withthe aid of the arms 478, the slaughter animal 442 is sucked securelyonto the suction nozzle 472 and, if appropriate, rotated in thedirection of the arrow 474, and the slaughter animal 442 is put backonto the belt conveyor 440 in a predetermined position and in apredetermined orientation, by eliminating the suction from the suctionnozzle 472.

In FIG. 20, the slaughter animals 442 are poultry having wings. Thesuction nozzle 472 of the suction device 470 has such dimensions thatonly poultry 442 lying on the belt conveyor 440 with their wings facingthe suction nozzle 472 will be taken up by the suction device 470, sinceonly in this orientation the suction nozzle 472 can produce enough forceto lift the poultry 442 from the belt conveyor 440. Poultry 442 lying onthe belt conveyor 440 with one or two wings facing away from the suctionnozzle 472, as well as poultry without wings, or slaughter animals orparts thereof having certain weights or dimensions will not be caught bythe suction device 470. Thus the suction device 470 operatesselectively.

FIG. 21 shows a belt conveyor 490 on which stunned or dead slaughteranimals are supplied in the direction of arrow 492. At one end 494, thebelt conveyor 490 is mounted on a roller 496. The end 494 projects intoa cylinder 498 which is provided with open ends and can be rotated, in amanner which is not shown in more detail, about its longitudinal axis500, at a predetermined speed. As seen from the end 494 of the beltconveyor 490, the longitudinal axis 500 of the cylinder 498 slopesdownwards. That end of the cylinder 498 which is remote from the beltconveyor 490 is located above a belt conveyor 502 which is mounted,inter alia, on a roller 504 and the belt of which is driven in thedirection of arrow 506.

A slaughter animal which is supplied along the belt conveyor 490 and islocated at a distance from a following slaughter animal falls into therotating cylinder 498 at the end 494 and will roll around the inside ofthis cylinder and adopt a position which is such that the longitudinalaxis of the slaughter animal is substantially parallel to thelongitudinal axis 500 of the cylinder 498. At the same time, the forceof gravity will move the slaughter animal towards the lowest point ofthe cylinder 498, where it will leave the cylinder 498 and be carriedalong by the belt conveyor 506 in the orientation which has beenproduced by the cylinder 498.

Along its inner wall, the cylinder 498 may be provided with helical,radially inwardly projecting wall 499 with a pitch which is at leastequal to the width dimension of the slaughter animal, with the resultthat the slaughter animal will leave the cylinder 498 in an orientationin which the longitudinal axis of the slaughter animal is orientedsubstantially transversely with respect to the longitudinal axis 500 ofthe cylinder 498.

FIGS. 22 a and 22 b show a belt conveyor 510 which is mounted, interalia, on a roller 512 and on which stunned or dead slaughter animals,which are lying on their belly or their back, are supplied in thedirection of arrow 514, it being possible for the (hind) legs of theslaughter animals to be directed both in the direction of the arrow 514and in the opposite direction. At one end 516 of the belt conveyor 510there is a following, narrow belt conveyor 518 which is mounted, interalia, on a roller 520 and the belt of which is driven in the directionof arrow 522. On either side of the belt conveyor 518 there are mutuallyparallel walls 524 which are at a distance from one another which issuch that the slaughter animals can be conveyed between the walls 524 inthe positions described above but not in other positions. The walls 524adjoin walls 526 above the belt conveyor 510, which serve to guideslaughter animals which are supplied along the belt conveyor 510 betweenthe walls 524. As illustrated in particular by FIG. 22 b, fowl 528 whichare lying on their front are conveyed through the belt conveyor 518 insuch a manner that the legs of the fowl 528 are located on either sideof the belt conveyor 518 and project downwards with respect to the beltconveyor 518. This fact is exploited in an automatic device for hangingthe fowl 528 by their legs, for example of the type which is known perse from EP-A-0, 145,077. Legs of fowl which are lying on their backs,incidentally, are located entirely above the belt conveyor 518 and areless suitable for gripping with an automatic device.

FIG. 23 shows a belt conveyor 550 which is mounted, inter alia, on aroller 552 and the belt of which is moving in the direction of arrow554, and a slaughter animal 556, in this case a fowl, which is beingconveyed on the belt conveyor 550 with its legs in the direction of thearrow 554. An orientation of this nature can be obtained, for example,in the arrangement which is shown in FIG. 15. At the end of the beltconveyor 550, in the vicinity of the roller 552, there is a stop bracket558 which can be pivoted about an axis 560 in a controllable manner, notshown in more detail, in the directions of double arrow 562, between theraised position shown in the figure and a position in which it ispivoted away from the belt conveyor 550. In its raised position, thestop bracket 558 blocks further conveying of the slaughter animal 556 bythe belt conveyor 550, after which an arm 566, which can move in thedirections of double arrow 564 and has a gripper 570 which can be openedand closed via an actuating arm 568, can pick up the slaughter animal556 by its neck, in order, for example, to hang it over a hook 10. Whenthe slaughter animal 556 is picked up from the belt conveyor 550 by thearm 566, the stop bracket 558 is pivoted away.

FIG. 24 shows a belt conveyor 580 which is mounted, inter alia, on aroller 582 and the belt of which is moving in the direction of arrow584. The belt conveyor 580 supplies slaughter animals 586, in this casefowl, which have been oriented with their legs in the direction of thearrow 586, for example using the arrangement shown in FIG. 15. A hook590 is moved towards the belt conveyor 580 manually or automatically,synchronized with the supply of the slaughter animals 586, in thedirection of arrow 588, during which movement the legs of the slaughteranimal 586 move into designated parts of the hook 590. The hook 590 isthen lifted in the direction of arrow 592, with the result that the fowlis lifted off the belt conveyor 580 and comes to hang from the hook 590in order to be processed further.

FIG. 25 shows a belt conveyor 600 which is mounted, inter alia, on aroller 602 and the belt of which is moving in the direction of arrow604. At one end 606 of the belt conveyor 600, two parallel beltconveyors 608, 610 are arranged at a distance apart, which parallel beltconveyors are mounted on rollers 612, 614 and 616, 618, respectively andare both driven at an equal-speed, in a manner now shown in more detail,in order for the belts of the these conveyors to be moved in thedirection of arrow 620.

A dot-dashed line 622 indicates a substantially horizontal path alongwhich hooks 10 are moved under the belt conveyors 608, 610 in thedirection of arrow 624. In this case, the path 622 is selected in such amanner that the recesses 8 in the hooks 10 are situated a certaindistance below the gap between the belt conveyors 608, 610, the speed ofmovement of the hooks 10 substantially corresponding to the speed ofmovement of the belts of the belt conveyors 608, 610.

Slaughter animals 626 which are supplied along the conveyor belt 600 areguided, by means of stationary walls 628 which converge in the directionof the arrow 604, towards the centre of the conveyor belt 600. At theend 606 of the belt conveyor 600, the head of the slaughter animal 626moves into the gap between the belt conveyors 608, 610. However, the gapis too narrow to allow the body of the slaughter animal 626 to passthrough, with the result that the body comes to rest on the belts of thebelt conveyors 608, 610. Preferably, the width of the gap between thebelt conveyors 608, 610 decreases in the direction of the arrow 620, sothat the necks of the slaughter animals 626 are clamped between the beltconveyors 608, 610 at the location of the rollers 614, 618. As a result,the slaughter animals 626, after they have moved past the end 630 of thebelt conveyors 608, 610, come to hang by their neck and are then carriedalong in the direction of arrow 632. By ensuring that the width of thegap between the belt conveyors 618, 610 then increases again, so thatthe neck is released from the gap, a hook 10 is able to assumeresponsibility for conveying the slaughter animal 626 along the path622, taking over from the belt conveyors 608, 610. The arrangement shownin FIG. 25 can therefore be used to hang slaughter animals 626automatically from the hooks 10 by their necks.

FIG. 26 shows a belt conveyor 640 which is driven, in a manner not shownin more detail, in the direction of arrow 642. Along a curved path,hooks 644 are guided in the direction of arrows 646 and 648 along anedge of the belt conveyor 640 and further upwards. One person 650orients slaughter animals 652, in this case fowl, which are supplied onthe belt conveyor 640, in such a manner that their legs project over theedge of the belt conveyor 640. If appropriate, the belt of the beltconveyor 640 may be provided with raised walls 654 or the like (denotedby dashed lines in FIG. 26), in which case the ends of the walls definerecesses in which the legs of the slaughter animals 652 can bepositioned at a predetermined distance from one another. A second person656 moves the legs of the slaughter animals into the hooks 644, afterwhich the slaughter animals are carried along by the hooks 644.Introducing the legs of the slaughter animals 652 requires only a slighteffort, without there being any need to lift the body of the slaughteranimal 652, which can remain resting on the belt conveyor 642. If thehooks 664, at the location where the person 656 is illustrated in thefigure, move along synchronously with the belt conveyor 640 and, at thesame time, undergo an upwards movement during which the legs of theslaughter animals move into the hook openings, the legs of the slaughteranimals can be gripped by the hooks 664 without the intervention of theperson 656.

FIG. 27 shows a belt conveyor 660, the belt of which is driven, in amanner not shown in more detail, in the direction of arrows 662. Next tothe belt conveyor 660 there are a number of people 664 a-664 e. Abovethe belt conveyor 660 there is a part of a path of an overhead conveyor666 bearing hooks which are not shown in more detail and are moving inthe direction of arrows 668. Where parts of the path intersect oneanother, there is a difference in level between these parts. The speedat which the hooks move along the path of the overhead conveyor 666 issubstantially equal to the conveying speed of the belt conveyor 660. Viaa belt conveyor 670, stunned or dead slaughter animals are fed to thebelt conveyor 660 in the direction of arrow 671. If the slaughteranimals have been stunned or killed with the aid of a gas mixture whichmay be harmful to the people 664 a-664 e, the belt conveyor 670 ispreferably equipped with openings 672 through which gases which arelocated above the belt conveyor 670 and have escaped from the slaughteranimals are sucked out.

The people 664 a-664 e hang slaughter animals which have been suppliedon the belt conveyor 660 from free hooks of the overhead conveyor 666,in which case in principle every hook is accessible to person 664 d andthe smallest number of hooks will be accessible to person 664 c.Providing the people 664 d and 664 e with access to the largest numberof free hooks, it is possible to prevent slaughter animals from arrivingat end 660 a of the belt conveyor 660 without having been hung up andwithout it being possible to do so.

FIG. 28 shows a similar arrangement to that shown in FIG. 27, but inthis case an overhead conveyor 680 runs in a straight path over the beltconveyor 660. The overhead conveyor 680 is moving in the direction ofarrow 682. There is thus a “concurrent flow” of slaughter animals on thebelt conveyor 660 and hooks on the overhead conveyor 680, so that it maybe difficult in particular for the people 664 d and 664 e to findsufficient free hooks to hang the slaughter animals from. This problemcan be at least partially overcome by reversing the conveying direction682 of the overhead conveyor 680, so that at any rate the person 664 ealways has free hooks available.

FIG. 29 shows a belt conveyor, the belt of which is driven, in a mannernot shown in more detail, in the direction of arrow 688. A narrow beltconveyor 690, which is driven, in a manner not shown in more detail, inthe direction of arrow 692, is arranged next to and parallel to the beltconveyor 688. Dead or stunned slaughter animals which are supplied via abelt conveyor 694 in the direction of arrow 696 move onto the beltconveyor 688 and, while they are being conveyed on this belt, are hungfrom hooks of an overhead conveyor 698 which is located above the beltconveyor 686, the hooks moving in the direction of arrow 700. A wall 702which is arranged in a stationary position a short distance above thebelt conveyors 686 and 690 guides slaughter animals which cannot be hungup quickly enough by persons 704 d from the belt conveyor 686 to thebelt conveyor 690, after which the slaughter animal in question isreturned past the people 704 c, 704 b and 704 a. Since there are alwaysmore hooks empty in the direction of the arrow 692, one of the people704 a-704 c can still hang a slaughter animal which has been returnedalong the belt conveyor 690 from a hook of the overhead conveyor 698.

FIG. 30 shows a belt conveyor 710, the belt of which is moving, in amanner not shown in more detail, in the direction of arrow 712. Abovethe belt conveyor 710, there is an overhead conveyor 714 in which hooksare moving in the direction of arrow 716. At the downstream end of thebelt conveyor 710, there is a carousel conveyor 718 with two raisedwalls 720, 722, between which an annular plate 724 is rotated, in amanner not described in more detail, in one of the directions of doublearrow 726. A slaughter animal which has moved onto the belt conveyor 710via belt conveyor 730, which is moving in the direction of arrow 728,and has not been hung from the belt conveyor 710 onto a hook of theoverhead conveyor 714 by any of people 732 a-732 d reaches the carouselconveyor 718, which functions as a buffer. The slaughter animal can thenstill be picked up by the person 732 d from the carousel conveyor 718and can be hung from a hook of the overhead conveyor 714. The fact thata slaughter animal reaches the carousel conveyor forms an indicationthat the number of slaughter animals supplied per unit time is too high.Preferably, therefore, the person 732 d is provided with means forreducing the number of slaughter animals supplied per unit time, forexample by reducing the conveying speeds of the belt conveyors 730 and710. In this connection, automatic regulation of the supply of slaughteranimals is also conceivable, in which case the carousel conveyor 718 isequipped with a suitable detector for detecting the presence ofslaughter animals on the carousel conveyor 718. If the detector detectsthat there are no slaughter animals on the carousel conveyor 718, thesupply of slaughter animals can be increased to a specified maximum.However, as soon as the presence of slaughter animals on the carouselconveyor 718 is detected, the supply of slaughter animals is reduced,preferably in steps.

FIG. 31 shows a belt conveyor 740, the belt of which is driven, in amanner not shown in more detail, in the direction of arrow 742. A numberof receptacles 744 a-744 d are arranged at a lower level next to thebelt conveyor 740, above which receptacles hooks are moving, in anoverhead conveyor 746, in the direction of arrows 748. On the other sideof the belt conveyor 740, opposite each receptacle 744 a-744 d, there isa respective ejector mechanism 750 a-750 e, comprising an upright plate752, which can be moved transversely over the belt conveyor 740 at ashort distance above it and which is attached to a rod 754 of apiston-cylinder unit 756. At the ejector mechanism 750 a, solid linesrepresent a starting position of the plate 752, while dashed linesindicate an ejection position.

The ejector mechanisms 750 a-750 e are used to push the slaughteranimals which are supplied on the belt conveyor 740 into the respectivereceptacles 744 a-744 e, from which the slaughter animals are hung fromhooks of the overhead conveyor. 746 by respective people 758 a-758 e.The receptacles 744 a-744 e may each be provided with a suitable sensor,such as a weight sensor, on the basis of whose signal the associatedejector mechanism 750 a-750 e is actuated for ejecting slaughter animalsfrom the belt conveyor 740 and maintain a certain filling level of thereceptacles 744 a-744 e and/or a specified, preferably uniformdistribution of the slaughter animals over the receptacles 744 a-744 e.

FIG. 32 shows four receptacles 760 a-760 d, at which people 762 a-762 dare standing. An overhead conveyor 764 in which hooks (not shown in moredetail) are moving in the direction of arrows 766, runs above thereceptacles. By means which are not shown in more detail, the belt of abelt conveyor 768 is driven in the direction of arrow 770. Beneath thedownstream end of the belt conveyor 770 there is a sloping chute 772which can be pivoted, in a controllable manner, about a pin 774, in thedirections of double arrow 776, and the lowest end of which, in apredetermined pivot position, adjoins one of the receptacles 760 a-760d.

At the lowest end of the chute 772, there is a raised wall 778 which isattached to pins 782 in such a manner that it can be pivoted in acontrolled manner by means of arms 780. Thus the wall 778, in theposition shown, can block slaughter animals which are supplied from thebelt conveyor 768, and in an upwardly pivoted position can allowslaughter animals to pass through into one of the receptacles 760 a-760d.

In a similar way to that explained in connection with FIG. 31, thereceptacles 760 a-760 d in FIG. 32 may also be provided with weightsensors which are able to emit a signal, on the basis of which thesupply of slaughter animals to the receptacles 760 a-760 d is regulated.

FIG. 33 shows a carousel conveyor 790 with two raised walls 792, 794,between which an annular plate 796 is rotated about a pin 800 in thedirection of arrows 798. Above the top edge of the raised wall 792 thereis a belt conveyor 802, the belt of which moves in the direction ofarrow 804. Above the carousel conveyor 790, there is an overheadconveyor 806, in which hooks (not shown in more detail) are moving inthe direction of arrows 808. A partition 810 extends above the plate796, between the walls 792 and 794.

Stunned or dead slaughter animals which are supplied on the beltconveyor 802 fall from the downstream end of the belt conveyor 802 ontothe plate 796 of the carousel conveyor 790 and are thus conveyed onwardsin the direction of the arrows 798 between the raised walls 792, 794until they are blocked by the partition 810. People who hang theslaughter animals from the plate 796 in the hooks of the overheadconveyor 806 stand behind the raised wall 792.

If the direction of rotation 798 of the plate 796 is reversed, thepartition 810 has to be displaced into the location 810 a indicated bydashed lines. Both in the normal direction of rotation 798 and in theopposite direction of rotation, the partition 810 or 810 a preventsslaughter animals from remaining in the carousel conveyor 790 for aprolonged period, since it will be obvious that slaughter animals whichare located at the partition 810 or 810 a have to be given priority forhanging from the hooks of the overhead conveyor 806. In the case of thepartition 810 a, with the hooks and the slaughter animals moving in“countercurrent flow”, only empty hooks are located at the position ofthe partition 810 a, which makes it easier to hang the slaughter animalsat that location.

FIG. 34 shows a carousel conveyor 820 with raised walls 822, 824 and anannular plate. 826 which rotates about a pin 830 in the direction ofarrows 828. A belt conveyor 832, the belt of which is moved, in a mannernot shown in more detail, in the direction of arrow 834, is arrangedabove the top edge of the raised wall 822. Above the carousel conveyor820 there is an overhead conveyor 836 in which hooks are moving in thedirection of arrows 838. A partition 840 extends between the raisedwalls 822, 824, above the plate 826 of the carousel conveyor 820, whichpartition can pivot about a pin 842 into a position which is illustratedby dashed lines. People who pick up slaughter animals which have beensupplied onto the plate 826 via the belt conveyor 832 and hang them fromthe hooks of the overhead conveyor 836 stand behind the raised wall 822.

Slaughter animals which, after they have completed virtually a completecircuit in the carousel conveyor 820, have not yet been hung from a hookcome into contact with the partition 840, which pivots open when acertain pressure is exerted on it by slaughter animals, in order toallow these slaughter animals to pass through. At the same time, thefact that the partition 840 has pivoted open makes it possible to derivea signal that the supply of slaughter animals via the belt conveyor 832should be interrupted for a brief period, so that it will be clearlyapparent to the people around the carousel conveyor 820 which slaughteranimals have been allowed to pass through the partition 840 (andtherefore need to be given priority when hanging) and which slaughteranimals are only on their first circuit through the carousel conveyor820.

FIG. 35 shows a carousel conveyor 850 with raised walls 852, 854 and856, and two annular plates 858, 860, which are rotated in oppositedirections 862 and 864, respectively, about a pin 866. Above the topedge of the raised wall 852 there is a belt conveyor 868, the belt ofwhich is driven, by means which are not shown in more detail, in thedirection of arrow 870. A partition 876 extends between the raised walls852 and 856, above the plates 858, 860. A partition 878 extends betweenthe raised walls 852 and 854, above the plate 860. Above the carouselconveyor 850 there is an overhead conveyor 872 in which hooks (not shownin more detail) are moving in the direction of arrows 874. Slaughteranimals which are supplied onto the plate 858 by the belt conveyor 868,if they have not been hung from hooks, are firstly conveyed almost onecircuit on the plate 858 between the raised walls 854 and 856, afterwhich they are guided by the partition 876 onto the plate 860 and areconveyed between the raised walls 852 and 854 to the partition 878.Here, they will be given priority by the person at that location forhanging from the hooks of the overhead conveyor 872, and with this inmind this person has an unlimited number of free hooks available.

FIG. 36 shows a carousel conveyor 880 with raised walls 882, 884,between which an annular plate 886 is rotated in the direction of arrows888 about a pin 890. A raised wall 892 connects the raised wall 884 tothe raised wall 882. A triangular plate 894 is arranged in a stationaryposition in the surface of the plate 886. Above the raised walls 882 and892, there is a belt conveyor 896, the belt of which is moved, in amanner not shown in more detail, in the direction of arrow 898. Abovethe carousel conveyor, there is an overhead conveyor 900 in which hooks(not shown in more detail) are moving in the direction of arrows 902.People who hang slaughter animals which are present in the carouselconveyor 880 and are supplied via the belt conveyor 896 from hooks ofthe overhead conveyor 900 stand behind the raised wall 882. In thiscase, slaughter animals firstly reach the plate 886 and then—if they arenot hung up immediately—pass through more than a full circuit on theplate 886 before they are guided between the raised walls 882 and 892onto the plate 894. A person located at that location will give priorityto hanging these slaughter animals from the hooks of the overheadconveyor 900, and with this in mind this person has an unlimited numberof free hooks at his disposal.

It is important for slaughter animals to be hung up within a certaintime of being stunned, so that they can be fed to an exsanguinationdevice, in order to achieve a desired quality of exsanguination, and inview of the risk of a slaughter animal which has been stunned waking upbefore exsanguination has commenced. Even in the case of dead slaughteranimals, they have to be hung up within a certain limited time in orderto prevent an undesired loss of quality. It is therefore important toprevent slaughter animals from being able to or having to remain in abuffer store for an excessive time before they are hung up. Appropriatemeasures which ensure that this is so are provided in a number of thearrangements shown in FIG. 27 and subsequent figures.

In the Figures associated with this description, only those componentswhich come into direct contact with the fowl are illustrated. Othercomponents, such as a frame, actuators, etc. have been omitted for thesake of clarity and can in any case be designed in an obvious manner bythe person skilled in the art.

While the invention has been particularly shown and described withreference to preferred embodiments, it will be understood by thoseskilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be madetherein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

1-34. (canceled)
 35. A device for imposing a distance between stunned ordead slaughter animals or parts thereof, the device comprising: a firstconveyor for conveying the slaughter animals or parts thereof along afirst conveyor path in a first direction, and a second conveyor leadingfrom the first conveyor for conveying the slaughter animals or partsthereof along a second conveyor path in a second direction, wherein thefirst direction differs from the second direction. 36-62. (canceled)